THE  STORY 
OF  FORT  FISHER 


BY 


MAJOR     LEONARD      R.     THOMAS 


Cfte  Lifcrarp 

of  thr 

(Untoersitp  of  Bout  Carolina 


Collection  of  &ott§  Carolinfana 


TH5" 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00032744629 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Preface 

/ 

/ 

In  November,  1864,  the  Ninety-seventh  Regiment  was 
with  the  Army  of  the  James  in  its  intrenchments  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  confronting  Longstreet's  corps,  also 
in  intrenchments  from  four  to  six  miles  from  Richmond. 
The  opposing  picket  lines  were  everywhere  within  hail  of 
each  other. 

The  Ninety-seventh  had  just  passed  the  third  anni- 
versary of  its  organization,  October  29th,  with  four  hundred 
and  eighty-three  on  its  muster  rolls.  Some  sixty  or  seventy 
of  these  were  all  that  were  left  of  the  three  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  re-enlisted  veterans.  The  remainder  had  all 
been  killed  or  wounded  in  that  bloody  summer  of  1864.  The 
Regiment  had  lost  over  five  hundred  from  May  to  November 
that  year.  The  original  commissioned  officers  had  been 
killed,  wounded,  or  mustered  out  at  expiration  of  term 
except  Col.  Galusha  Pennypacker,  who,  with  four  wounds 
on  his  body,  was,  and  had  long  been,  in  command  of  the  2nd 
brigade,  2nd  division,  24th  Corps.  His  old  regiment  was  a 
part  of  the  brigade. 

We  had  lost  a  host  of  our  best  and  bravest  that  summer 
on  the  lead  swept  lines  that  invested  Richmond  and  Peters- 
burg, and  November  1st,  1864,  nearly  all  the  companies 
were  commanded  by  their  first  sergeants,  though  on  or 
about  December  1st,  some  six  or  seven  sergeants  received 
commissions  as  lieutenants.  Colonel  Pennypacker  was  the 
only  field  officer  and  the  reduced  number  of  the  rank  and  file 
did  not  permit  the  muster  of  an  additional  officer  of  that 
grade. 

But  we  were  still  the  Ninety-seventh  Regiment,  bound 
together  by  our  great  traditions  arid'  impelled  by  the  same 
spirit  of  enduring  courage  that  had  carried  us  through  the 
ten  weeks  under  fire  in  the  trenches  before  Fort  Wagner  in 
1863,  made  us  go  forward  to  certain  slaughter  at  Bermuda 
Hundreds,  charge  up  to  the  fire  girdled  Confederate  works 
at  the  battle  of  the  Petersburg  Mine  and  meet  unfalteringly 
the  sure  daily  losses  in  the  deadly  picket  duty  on  the  Peters- 
burg lines  which  was  a  feature  of  that  summer's  fighting. 


The  regiment  had  been  wrought  to  a  mettle  which  made  it 
quick  and  vigorous  in  attack  and  gave  it  strong  endurance 
under  fire.  That  it  was  all  that  has  just  been  claimed,  was 
soon  to  be  proven  in  the  crowning  battle  and  victory  of  its 
career  at  Fort  Fisher,  fought  January  15,  1865.  That 
Sunday  was  a  never-to-be-forgotten  day  to  all  who  survived 
the  battle,  and  the  memory  of  that  afternoon  of  stern  strife 
down  by  the  Cape  Fear  has  remained  indelibly  stamped 
upon  the  consciousness  of  all  who  passed  through  it.  The 
lapse  of  fifty  years  has  not  dimmed  that  memory  in  the  mind 
of  the  writer,  and  as  January  15,  1915,  will  be  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  battle,  all  of  which  he  saw  and  part  of 
which  he  was,  he  has  written  this  story.  L.  R.  T. 

Ocean  City,  N.  J.,  January  1, 1915. 


The    Story   of    Fort   Fisher,  N.  C. 
January  15,   1865 

As    told  by 

Leonard    R.    Thomas 

Major,    97th    Regiment,     Pennsylvania    Volunteers 
One    of    the     Survivors    of     that    Bloody    Battle 


One  of  the  most  brilliant  in  the  long  list  of  Union  vic- 
tories was  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  North  Carolina,  at 
the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River,  Sunday,  January  15,  1865, 
the  last  year  of  the  Great  War.  With  the  exception  of 
Bentonville  and  the  closing  operations  around  Petersburg 
it  was  the  last  great  conflict  of  that  war  and  the  interest 
centering  about  it,  both  because  of  its  importance  in  Grant's 
plans,  and  because  of  the  brilliancy  of  the  action  itself;*was 
so  great  that  even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  fifjP  years,  the 
story  of  the  battle  will,  it  seems  to  me,  be  interesting,  not 
only  to  other  survivors  of  that  bloody  struggle,  to  relatives 
and  friends,  but  to  the  general  public  as  well.  I  have  there- 
fore set  down  from  personal  recollections  and  a  few  notes 
made  at  the  time,  the  story  of  Fort  Fisher,  as  it  comes  to 
me  over  the  years  since  1865.  ^  - 

The  part  that  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher  playerllin 
Grant's  plans  has  often  been  told  and  need  not  be  given  us 
detail;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  do  more  than  speak  of  the 
location  of  the  Fort,  commanding,  as  it  did,  the  entrance  to 
Cape  Fear  River,  making  it  both  a  perfect  protection  for 
blockade  runners,  and  a  defence  to  Wilmington,  thirty 
miles  above.  A  brief  reference,  however,  to  the  structure 
itself  may  help  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  battle. 

Federal  Point  is  the  name  of  the  narrow  sandy  penin- 
sula which  extends  below  Wilmington  between  the  Cape 
Fear  and  the  coast.  For  the  last  five  or  six  miles  of  its 
length  the  Point  is  not  in  any  place  more  than  two  miles 
wide,  and  was,  at  the  time  of  the  conflict,  covered,  in  some 
places,  with  pine  woods.  But  towards  its  southern  end 
there  were  shallow  swamps  and  a  low  tangled  growth  of 
cedar  scruboak  and  pine,  to  within^a  half  mile  or  less  of  the 


<r  \ 


fort.  My  recollection  is,  however,  that  the  last  mile  and  a 
half  of  Federal  Point  was  mostly  bare  and  open  beach,  with 
a  treeless  swamp  next  the  river.  On  this  open  ground  the 
great  fortification  stood,  with  its  land  face  within  a  mile  of 
the  extreme  southern  end  of  Federal  Point.  . 

Fort  Fisher  was  constructed  of  beach  sand  sodded  with 
marsh  grass,  and  had  been  built  in  accordance  with  its 
situation  and  use,  which  was,  as  I  have  said,  to  control  the 
navigation  of  the  Cape  Fear  in  the  interest  of  blockade 
running  and  against  a  naval  attack  upon  Wilmington. 

As  any  land  force  operating  against  it  must  do  so  by 
landing  on  Federal  Point  north  of  the  fort  and  attacking 
from  that  direction,  the  north  or  land  face  of  the  fortifica- 
tion was  very  strongly  built.  Beginning  at  the  river,  a 
parapet  twenty  feet  high  ran  east  some  six  hundred  yards 
to  a  bastion  near  the  sea,  where  it  made  a  sharp  angle  and 
then  ran  southwestward  thirteen  hundred  yards,  ending  in 
a  small  work  called  "Mound  Battery."  The  fort  thus  had  a 
sea  and  a  land  face,  but  was  open  at  the  back  next  the 
river.  Twenty-four  heavy  guns  armed  the  sea  face  and 
twenty-one  the  land  face. 

There  had  been  built  on  the  parapet  of  the  land  face,  at 
equal  intervals,  some  twelve  traverses,  rising  ten  feet  above 
the  parapet,  at  right  angles  to  its  line  and  extending  back 
twenty-five  feet  towards  the  interior  of  the  work.  Between 
these  were  placed  the  heavy  guns.  A  high  loopholed  palisade 
was  in  front  of  the  land  face.  The  heavy  traverses  referred 
to  played  an  important  part  in  the  battle,  for  it  was  over 
them  and  about  their  bases  that  the  most  desperate  fighting 
took  place.  The  construction  of  the  sea  face  was  similar  to 
that  of  the  land  face,  but  lighter.  The  garrison  consisted 
of  2,500  Confederate  veterans,  commanded  by  General 
William  H.  C.  Whiting  and  Colonel  William  Lamb. 

Grant  had  been  intending  to  take  Fort  Fisher  all  the 
fall  of  1864,  and  had  caused  to  be  assembled  in  Hampton 
Roads  for  the  purpose,  under  Admiral  Porter,  a  great  fleet 
carrying  more  than  six  hundred  guns.  This  fleet  early  in 
December  was  joined  by  6,500  infantry  from  the  Army  of 
the  James,  but  there  was  so  much  delay  that  no  attack  was 
made  until  Christmas  Day,  and  then  only  a  partial  one, 
which  failed. 

General  B.  F.  Butler,  as  commander  of  the  Army  of  the 
James,  had  accompanied  the  expedition,  and  he,  when  the 


immediate  commander  of  the  troops,  General  Weitzel, 
reported  against  making  an  assault,  ordered  the  land  force 
back  to  the  Army  of  the  James.  Grant,  according  to  the 
army  talk  of  the  time,  was  greatly  displeased  and  blamed 
Butler  for  the  failure.  At  any  rate,  Butler  was  relieved  of 
his  command  and  ordered  to  report  at  his  home,  Lowell, 
Mass. 

Porter's  fleet  had  remained  off  Federal  Point,  the 
Admiral  strongly  advising  a  renewal  of  the  attack,  and  we 
had  no  sooner  reached  our  camps  north  of  the  James  and 
renewed  clothing  and  equipments,  than  Grant  ordered  us 
back;  the  6,500  detail  of  the  first  expedition  having  been 
raised  by  the  addition  of  Abbott's  brigade,  24th  corps,  to 
8,000  officers  and  men. 

The  quality  of  this  force  had  so  much  to  do  with  the 
winning  of  the  victory  that  I  may  be  pardoned  for  attempt- 
ing a  short  description  of  it.  No  pains  had  been  spared  to 
make  it  a  thoroughly  efficient  body  and  none  were  selected 
except  those  of  well-known  military  hardihood.  The  second 
division  of  the  24th  corps,  commanded  by  Brigadier  General 
Adelbert  Ames,  was  selected  for  what  we  all  felt  sure  would 
be  a  bloody  task,  and  of  the  5,000  which  the  division  num- 
bered only  3,300  were  taken.  Ames'  first  brigade  was  com- 
manded by  Colonel  N.  M.  Curtis,  142nd  New  York;  his 
second  by  Colonel  Galusha  Pennypacker,  97th  Pennsylvania ; 
his  third  by  Colonel  Louis  Bell,  4th  New  Hampshire.  The 
second  brigade  was  the  largest  and  numbered  about  1,500. 
It  was  composed  of  the  203rd,  97th  and  76th  Pennsylvania 
and  the  47th  and  48th  New  York. 

As  I  recall  the  names  of  the  regimental  commanders 
in  these  three  brigades,  they  were :  Colonel  John  W.  Moore, 
of  Philadelphia,  for  the  203rd;  Colonel  John  S.  Littell,  for 
the  76th ;  Colonel  William  B.  Coan,  for  the  48th,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Joseph  M.  MacDonald,  for  the  47th.  Colonel 
John  Wainwright,  now  of  Wilmington,  Del., — and  at  the 
time  of  the  battle  a  captain, — led  the  97th. 

I  cannot  recall  the  state  numbers  of  the  regiments  com- 
posing the  first  and  third  brigades  and  Colonel  Abbott's 
brigade,  but  the  3rd,  the  117th,  the  142nd,  the  112th,  the 
115th,  the  169th  New  York  and  the  3rd  and  the  4th  New 
Hampshire  were  some  of  them. 

The  other  white  troops  with  us  were  Battery  E,  3rd 
U.  S.  Artillery,  commanded  by  First  Lieutenant  John  R. 


Myrick ;  1st  New  York  Independent  Light  Battery,  Captain 
Richard  H.  Lee,  and  one  company  of  the  1st  New  York 
Engineers,  Captain  Charles  B.  Parsons.  Brigadier  General 
Charles  J.  Paine's  division  of  United  States  colored  troops, 
25th  corps,  were  also  a  part  of  the  force.  Major  General 
Alfred  H.  Terry  was  selected  by  Grant  to  command  the 
expedition. 

January  6,  1865,  we  took  transports  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred, on  the  James,  and  by  the  evening  of  the  8th  had 
joined  Porter  at  the  rendezvous  off  Beaufort,  N.  C.  We 
were  detained  there  by  stormy  weather  until  the  12th,  but 
by  evening  of  that  day  the  expedition  had  come  together  off 
Federal  Point. 

/  The  morning  of  Friday,  January  13th,  dawned  bright, 
and  soon  after  sunrise  two  hundred  boats  from  the  fleet 
rowed  to  the  sides  of  the  transports,  the  landing  began,  and 
by  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  entire  land  force  with 
their  ammunition  and  sufficient  rations  were  ashore  on 
Federal  Point,  about  three  miles  north  of  the  fortification 
we  had  come  to  take.  A  section  of  the  fleet  protected,  with 
its  fire,  the  landing  from  any  interference  by  Hoke's  division 
of  Lee's  army,  which  was  in  position  on  the  Point  below 
Wilmington.  His  pickets  were  watching  the  landing  from 
a  line  just  out  of  range  of  the  navy's  artillery. 

The  landing  was  made  in  a  heavy  surf,  and  not  a  few 
of  us  got  our  first  salt  water  bath  that  forenoon,  though 
without  bathing  suits.  There  were  no  serious  mishaps,  how- 
ever, for  of  all  the  day's  impressions  the  one  that  after  fifty 
years  remains  brightest  in  memory  is  the  rough  kindness 
of  the  sailors  who  were  manning  the  boats.  They  jeered  us 
for  land  lubbers,  but  they  gave  a  helping  hand  always  where 
it  was  needed.  A  soldier  astride  of  a  sailor's  neck  and  being 
carried  to  land  through  the  surf  was  a  common  sight. 
Scores  of  these  gallant  tars  fell  in  the  battle. 

While  the  landing  was  going  on,  the  situation  began  to 
dawn  upon  us.  We  were  soldiers  of  long  acquaintance  with 
the  enemy's  way  of  doing  things ;  there  we  were  on  an  open 
beach  with  the  big  fort  on  one  side  and  a  veteran  division 
of  5,000  Confederates  on  the  other.  We  had  learned  in 
Virginia  that  Confederate  soldiers  could  always  be  counted 
on  to  make  trouble  if  there  was  opportunity  to  do  it,  and 
we  were  not  sure  that  an  attack  from  Fort  Fisher  with  one 


at  the  same  time  from  the  direction  of  Wilmington  would 
not  be  tried. 

But  we  found  that  General  Terry,  with  Colonel  Corn- 
stock,  of  Grant's  staff,  and  the  division  commanders  had 
the  situation  well  in  hand.  They  pushed  out  strong  skirmish 
lines  in  both  directions  and  under  cover  of  them  examined 
the  ground  for  a  good  line  of  defence  against  an  attack  by 
Hoke.  By  evening  one,  about  two  miles  from  Fisher,  was 
found,  extending  from  sea  to  river. 

In  1864,  picks  and  shovels  were  as  much  a  part  of  our 
business  equipment  as  were  muskets,  and,  though  we  never 
liked  them,  we  had  become  experts  in  their  use.  This  ex- 
pedition had  brought  along  thousands  of  the  homely  imple- 
ments, and  at  nine  P.  M.  on  the  13th,  we  were  formed  on 
the  line  selected  by  the  commanders ;  the  picks  and  shovels 
were  at  hand,  and  by  the  morning  of  the  14th  a  breastwork 
capable,  if  well  defended,  of  resisting  any  attack  had  been 
built.  Paine's  colored  troops,  Abbott's  brigade  and  the  two 
field  batteries  we  had  brought,  took  charge  of  the  line 
leaving  Ames'  division  free  to  prepare  for  the  service  before 
it. 

All  day  of  Saturday,  January  14th,  Porter  kept  up  a 
fire  on  the  Fort,  while  the  Army  leaders,  from  a  point  near 
the  river  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  made  their 
examination  of  the  work.  It  was  decided  to  make  the  assault 
the  next  day,  Sunday,  January  15th,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  Ames  and  his  division  were  selected  for  the 
work.  The  Admiral  agreed  to  silence  Fisher's  artillery  and 
break  down  the  palisades  with  the  fire  of  his  fleet.  He  was 
also  to  assist,  by  charging  at  the  hour  fixed  for  the  assault, 
the  sea  angle  of  the  fort  with  2,000  sailors  and  marines  who, 
next  day,  were  to  land  for  that  purpose.  Commander 
Breese  of  the  Navy  led  them,  and  the  late  Admiral  "Bob" 
Evans,  who  was  then  a  midshipman  of  eighteen,  and  who 
was  desperately  wounded  in  the  charge,  was  one  of  his 
officers. 

As  Paine's  colored  troops  were  not  called  upon  to  fight 
since  no  attack  was  made  on  their  line  no  further  reference 
to  them  seems  necessary.  I  commanded  a  company  of  the 
97th  Pennsylvania  which  formed  part  of  Ames'  division  so 
that  the  attack  must  be  told  of  as  nearly  as  possible  as  I 
saw  it  while  endeavoring  to  perform  my  duty  as  an  officer 
of  the  line. 


Preparing   for   the  Assault 

Curtis'  first  brigade  was  within  six  hundred  yards  of 
the  fort  on  the  side  next  the  river  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
14th  and  remained  there  during  the  night.  The  second  and 
the  third  were  relieved  from  other  duty  during  the  same 
afternoon,  and  ordered  to  replenish  ammunition,  fill  haver- 
sacks and  canteens,  put  muskets  in  working  condition  and 
get  all  the  rest  they  could. 

We  had  been  pretty  certain  all  along,  that  there  was 
bloody  work  ahead  of  us,  but  when  we  got  those  orders, 
there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  about  it.  The  orders  meant 
battle,  that  night,  it  might  be,  certainly  the  next  day. 

But  there  was  no  time,  and  but  little  disposition  to 
indulge  in  gloomy  forebodings.  We  thought  much  more 
about  getting  a  good  supper  and  some  sleep  than  about  the 
coming  conflict.  About  midnight,  the  two  brigades  were 
moved  into  a  low  growth  of  pine  and  cedar,  ordered  to  lie 
on  their  arms  without  fires  and  rest  till  morning.  It  was  a 
clear,  frosty  night  in  mid  January  and  only  experienced 
soldiers  can  realize  how  it  was  with  no  fires.  It  was  too 
cold  to  sleep,  so  we  shivered  through  the  rest  of  the  night  in 
silence,  eagerly  awaiting  the  morning,  though  all  knew 
that  for  some  it  would  be  their  last.  All  were  resolute  to 
win  the  victory  that  day,  if  good  conduct  could  do  it. 

The  morning  of  Sunday,  the  15th,  was  chilly,  but  there 
was  a  bright  sun  which  was  greeted  as  an  augury  of  victory 
as  we  filed  into  position  near  the  river,  in  close  support  of 
Curtis,  who  had  remained  all  night  in  line  within  six  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  fort.  The  movement  brought  us  out  in 
full  view  of  the  hostile  stronghold  and  of  the  navy,  which 
by  eight  A.  M.  began  its  part  of  the  day's  work.  It  was  a 
sight  to  stir  the  most  sluggish  blood  and  it  must  remain  for- 
ever in  the  memory  of  every  survivor  of  the  conflict. 

The  surf  of  the  previous  day  or  two  had  gone  down 
and  the  sea  was  almost  without  a  ripple.  Sixty  war  vessels 
were  in  three  lines  just  off  the  shore,  all  arranged  in  a 
mighty  curve  which  enveloped  the  enemy  on  the  south, 
southeast,  east  and  northeast. 

The  admiral  had  ordered  careful  aim,  and  when  the 
four  hundred  heavy  guns  in  action  opened,  there  resulted  a 
fire  which  for  power  and  accuracy  was  both  terrible  and 
magnificent.     A  steady  rain  of  great  shells  fell  upon  the 


fort,  seaching  every  spot  on  its  parapets  and  in  its  interior. 
They  came  from  every  side  except  the  west  and  they  were 
falling  and  bursting  faster  than  the  ticking  of  a  watch. 
The  Confederate  artillerists  tried  in  vain  to  stand  to  their 
guns.  One  by  one,  these  were  broken  or  dismounted,  and 
the  garrison  driven  to  their  bomb  proofs. 

During  the  forenoon,  Commander  Breese  landed  his 
men  from  the  fleet  and  by  one-thirty  P.  M.,  they  were 
standing  in  column  on  the  beach  ready  for  the  signal  to  go 
forward  to  their  part  of  the  day's  task. 

On  the  side  of  the  river,  it  was  exactly  two  o'clock, 
when  sixty  of  the  13th  Indiana  with  forty  volunteers  of 
Curtis'  brigade,  all  armed  with  repeating  rifles,  and  pro- 
vided with  shovels, — Col.  Lent  of  the  13th  leading, — passed 
Ames'  lines  and  went  forward  at  a  run  to  within  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  yards  of  the  fort.  Here  they  quickly 
covered  themselves  in  a  shallow  trench  in  the  sand,  lay  down 
and  began  to  take  pot  shots  at  the  enemy  who  now  began 
to  appear  on  the  ramparts  and  open  fire  with  their  muskets. 

Curtis'  brigade  immediately  went  to  within  about  four 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  lay  down  and  with  tin  cups  and 
plates,  knives,  sword  blades  and  bayonets  partially  covered 
themselves  by  throwing  the  sand  to  their  front.  Penny- 
packer's  second  brigade  came  close  to  Curtis,  Bell's  third 
brigade  following  him  in  close  support. 

Soon  Curtis  again  advanced  at  a  run  to  a  line  close 
behind  the  sharp-shooters,  Pennypacker  followed  to  the  line 
just  vacated  by  Curtis  and  Bell  came  to  within  two  hundred 
yards  of  Pennypacker. 

On  paper,  the  movements  which  have  just  been  re- 
ferred to  look  commonplace  and  quite  in  the  line  of  a 
soldier's  business,  but  death  was  busy  in  our  ranks  all  this 
time.  For  the  veteran  marksmen  on  the  hostile  ramparts 
were  active  with  their  muskets,  and  their  fire  began  to  bite 
in  the  second  and  third  brigades  even  while  they  were 
wading  a  waist  deep  and  icy  cold  swampy  pond  distant 
some  six  hundred  yards  from  the  fort,  and  it  became  deadly 
while  we  were  forming  line  on  the  positions  from  which  the 
final  advance  was  made.  Here  a  number  of  officers  fell  with 
many  of  their  men,  but  there  was  no  faltering  in  that 
veteran  division  and  all  were  intent  upon  coming  to  grips 
with  the  task  before  them. 


The   Assault. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait  under  this  fire.  It  was  three 
twenty-five  o'clock  when  General  Terry  signalled  the  navy 
to  direct  its  fire  on  the  sea  face  of  the  fort  and  ordered 
Ames  to  send  his  infantry  in  to  the  attack,  the  men  of  the 
navy  charging  at  the  same  moment.  They  were,  however, 
quickly  repulsed  with  severe  loss,  for  the  enemy  drew  to- 
gether a  strong  force  at  the  sea  angle  and  ran  forward  a 
couple  of  light  guns  whose  double  charges  of  canister  with 
the  heavy  musketry  were  too  much  for  the  brave  blue 
jackets  and  marines.  They  were  compelled  to  draw  back 
out  of  the  fire.  The  enemy  had  assembled  so  much  force  to 
oppose  this  gallant  advance,  that  they  left  their  lines  thinly 
manned  on  the  side  next  the  river,  and  while  the  yelling 
Confederates  were  shouting  victory  and  asking  the  sailors 
why  they  did  not  "come  aboard,"  the  men  of  the  army  had 
broken  into  the  fort.  For  when  the  word  came  to  advance, 
all  three  of  the  brigades  rose  alert  from  the  ground,  officers 
and  color  bearers  ran  out  to  the  front,  the  men  pressed 
close  after  them  and  all  rushed  for  the  west  end  of  the  land 
face.  The  first  brigade  from  its  position  had  the  lead,  but 
the  color  bearers  of  all  the  regiments  strove  to  see  Who 
should  first  arrive,  so  that  the  charge  became  a  race  over 
the  last  two  hundred  yards,  which  were  passed  on  the  run, 
and  the  heads  of  all  the  brigades  reached  the  fort  almost 
at  the  same  time.  This  first  rush  carried  all  the  hostile  line 
from  the  river  to  the  fourth  of  the  great  traverses. 

But  Fort  Fisher  was  not  yet  taken.  The  veteran  garri- 
son rallied,  and  then  a  contest  began  which  for  desperate 
intensity  was  unusual  even  in  the  Civil  War.  Bell's  brigade 
was  formed  inside  the  work  to  fire  on  the  rear  of  both  its 
faces,  while  the  first  and  second  continued  the  task  of 
driving  the  enemy  from  the  remaining  nine  traverses  of 
the  land  face.  The  interior  was  full  of  holes  from  which 
sand  had  been  taken ;  in  these  the  Confederates  took  cover 
and  the  fight  settled  down  into  one  of  the  bloodiest  kind  of 
sharp  shooting.  The  only  way  in  which  progress  could  be 
made  at  the  traverses  was  to  close  with  the  enemy  over  their 
tops  and  around  their  bases.  It  was  in  this  desperate  work 
that  the  hardest  fighting  of  the  day  was  done.  Officers 
seized  muskets  from  dead  hands  and  joined  in  the  combat. 
Pennypacker  had  been  desperately  wounded  as  he  was  plant- 

10 


ing  the  flag  of  his  regiment  on  the  fifth  traverse,  Moore  was 
killed  at  the  first  traverse,  Curtis,  with  blood  streaming 
from  a  wound  in  the  face  and  musket  in  hand,  remained 
fighting  at  the  head  of  the  men.  General  Ames  himself,  in 
the  intervals  of  directing  the  battle,  used  a  musket  with 
effect.    Every  man  was  engaged. 

By  six  o'clock,  all  but  three  of  the  traverses  had  been 
carried,  and  at  seven,  or  soon  after,  Terry  ordered  up 
Abbott's  brigade,  upon  whose  arrival,  all  went  forward  to- 
gether against  the  enemy,  and  before  nine,  Fort  Fisher  was 
in  Union  keeping. 

The  garrison  retreated  to  the  extreme  end  of  Federal 
Point  and  being  there  hemmed  in  by  Abbott,  were  to  the 
number  of  1,900  compelled  to  surrender.  Forts  Caswell  and 
Johnson  across  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  on  the  mainland 
surrendered  the  next  day,  bringing  the  captured  artillery 
up  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  guns,  some  of  them  the 
heaviest  of  the  period. 

The  losses  had  been  heavy  for  the  numbers  engaged, 
amounting  to  over  50  per  cent  of  the  officers  and  more  than 
25  per  cent  of  the  men  on  each  side;  the  battle  took  front 
ank  among  Union  victories.  Grant  ordered  a  hundred- 
gun  salute  in  honor  of  it  in  each  of  his  principal  armies. 

The  day  after  the  battle,  Secretary  Stanton  who  was 
returning  from  a  consultation  with  Sherman  at  Savannah, 
ran  his  steamer  in,  and  landed  to  hear  the  particulars.  He 
personally  thanked  Admiral  Porter,  General  Terry,  General 
Ames  and  all  the  brigade  commanders  who  survived,  and 
ordered  a  list  made  of  officers  and  men  who  had  been  con- 
spicuous for  good  conduct.  He  breveted  these  officers  and 
gave  the  men  honorable  mention  in  orders. 

Side  Lights  on  the  Battle. 

The  deadly  accuracy  of  the  enemy's  musketry  as  we 
formed  in  the  plain  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  fort 
has  been  mentioned.  In  volume,  it  was  not  nearly  so  great 
as  we  had  frequently  been  under  in  Virginia,  but  there  was 
in  it  a  murderous  quality  which  was  noted  at  the  time  even 
amid  the  fierce  excitement  of  the  charge.  It  was  not  a  blind 
fire  whistling  and  humming  overhead,  and  the  number  of 
stricken  men,  increasing  from  moment  to  moment,  showed 
how  well  the  veterans  on  the  ramparts  could  aim.  Caps  and 
clothing  were  pierced,  swords  and  scabbards  were  hit,  belts 
and  canteen  straps  were  cut. 

11 


The  fire  was  the  harder  to  endure  because  there  was  no 
way  of  replying  to  it  and  there  was  but  little  shelter  in 
the  shallow  sand  trench  in  which  we  were  lying.  The  Con- 
federate bullets  kept  continually  hitting  men  in  the  lines, 
testing  severely  the  endurance  under  fire  of  the  troops,  that 
highest  attainment  of  good  infantry  and  the  last  to  be 
learned.  Those  veterans  had  learned  it  in  their  three  and 
a  half  years  of  service. 

The  advance  to  the  position  from  which  the  final  rush 
was  made  was  by  the  flank,  right  in  front,  the  heads  of 
column  arriving  first  at  the  line  on  which  deployment  was 
to  be  made.  A  successive  formation,  "On  the  right  by  file 
into  line"  was  therefore  used  to  bring  the  2nd  and  3rd 
brigades  into  line  for  the  attack.  Though  fifty  years  have 
passed,  I  well  remember  the  good  conduct  of  all  as  we  passed 
from  column  of  fours  into  line,  each  file  as  it  took  its 
place  bringing  the  musket  to  "The  Carry"  as  the  drill  pre- 
scribed, though  men  were  falling  all  the  while.  Every 
officer  and  man  was  apparently  more  intent  upon  a  nice 
execution  of  the  movement  than  he  was  upon  the  advance 
we  were  about  to  make  against  the  flaming  hell  in  front. 
A  soldier  is  nothing  without  drill  and  discipline.  Lieuten- 
ants Smedley,  Taylor  and,  I  think  Duffie,  of  the  Ninety 
Seventh  were  all  wounded  while  the  line  was  being  formed. 
Wainwright,  Odiorne,  Haines  and  the  writer  were  all 
privileged  to  join  in  the  final  thronging  rush  that  effected 
the  lodgment  in  the  fort.  Odiorne,  musket  in  hand,  was 
killed  on  the  parapet;  Haines  was  there  mortally  wounded 
and  the  other  two  both  wounded.  Not  one  of  the  seven 
officers  with  the  regiment  escaped  death  or  wounds. 

The  final  advance  was  made  in  silence  though  here 
and  there  in  the  lines  a  few  rugged  soldiers  gave  vent  to 
their  feeling  in  a  fierce  Northern  "hurrah"  so  different  from 
the  shrill  slogan  by  which  the  men  of  the  South  were  wont 
to  utter  their  passion  in  battle.  We  had  learned  well  what 
that  yell  meant.  We  had  heard  it  often  enough  to  know 
that  when  it  was  heard  in  volume,  we  would  be  instantly 
under  a  wasting  musketry  or  be  called  upon  to  face  a  swift 
advance  of  a  surging  mass  of  "rebel"  infantry  that  only  the 
hardest  fighting  could  stop. 

The  first  colors  planted  on  the  works  were  two  or  three 
guidons  of  the  117th  New  York,  but  the  first  regimental 
flag  I  saw  placed  on  the  parapet,  was  that  of  the  97th  Penn- 

12 


sylvania.  It  was  in  the  hands  of  Col.  Pennypacker  who, 
after  placing  it  on  the  fifth  traverse,  was  immediately  shot 
down  by  a  Confederate  marksman  not  twenty  paces  from 
him.  I  saw  Col.  John  W.  Moore  of  the  203rd  Pennsylvania 
at  the  first  traverse  with  Col.  Pennypacker,  and  I  heard  the 
latter  call  as  he  took  his  flag  from  Color  Bearer  McCarty, 
"Moore,  I  want  you  to  take  notice  that  this  is  the  flag  of  my 
old  regiment."  I  had  an  impression  at  the  time  that  Moore 
had  the  colors  of  his  regiment  in  his  hand  when  he  fell  with 
a  bullet  through  his  heart  an  instant  after  Pennypacker 
called  to  him.  He  was  a  veteran  from  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  and  had  been  in  all  its  battles  from  1861  up  to 
September  1864.  Col.  Bell  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his 
brigade  just  as  it  entered  the  fort.  Curtis  who  was  badly 
wounded  in  the  face,  was  one  of  the  first  men  on  the  parapet, 
and  he  remained  with  us  until  the  end  of  the  battle.  He 
was  six  feet  four  inches  in  height,  and  a  central  figure  in 
the  close  fighting  at  the  traverses.  General  Ames  exposed 
himself  freely  while  directing  the  combat  and  encouraging 
the  troops. 

The  troops  who  made  the  assault  were  of  the  old  10th 
corps  and  they  had  become  used  to  the  help  of  the  navy  at 
Fort  Wagner  in  1863,  but  the  blue  jackets  had  never  before 
so  honored  us.  The  brave  fellows  couldn't  understand  how 
it  was  that  common  looking  infantry  in  soiled  uniforms  had 
outfought  them.  They  were  told  that  we  had  learned  the 
tricks  of  the  trade. 

The  loss  in  officers  was  remarkable,  fully  equal,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  numbers  engaged,  to  that  at  Franklin,  Tenn., 
;where  it  exceeded  that  of  any  other  battle  of  the  war. 

In  some  of  the  smaller  regiments,  hardly  an  officer 
escaped  wounds  or  death.  In  the  97th  Pennsylvania,  as  has 
been  said,  of  the  seven  officers  engaged,  two  were  killed  and 
the  other  five  were  wounded.  It  was  a  battle  in  which  the 
officers  led  and  were  followed  by  men  who  would  go  where 
their  officers  dared  to  lead. 

The  men  who  won  this  victory  have  been  referred  to 
as  veterans.  Yet  all  were  young.  Terry  himself  was  hardly 
forty,  Ames,  if  he  was  thirty,  was  but  little  more,  Curtis 
hardly  thirty-five.  Bell  was  twenty-eight,  Pennypacker 
twenty-one.  Moore  was  twenty-five,  while  the  staff  officers 
and  those  of  the  line  were  nearly  all  not  more  than  twenty- 
three. 

13 


Of  these  young  men, — veterans  in  war, — only  a  few 
now  survive.  Thirty-three  hundred  made  the  assault;  not 
more  than  two  hundred  are  now  living.  The  war  was  near- 
ing  its  end  when  the  battle  was  fought,  and  many  a  youth 
was  looking  forward  to  a  speedy  return  to  his  home,  to 
whose  name  at  the  next  morning's  roll  call,  the  answer  was 
returned,  "Killed  in  the  Assault."  And  in  life's  stern  con- 
flict since,  nearly  all  the  rest  have  gone  down. 

The  youngest  superior  officer  and  almost  the  youngest 
man  of  that  veteran  division  is  still  alive  and  comparatively 
well,  at  his  home  300  South  Tenth  Street,  Philadelphia;  I 
refer  to  the  gallant  commander  of  the  Second  brigade,  Col. 
Galusha  Pennypacker,  now  Major  General  U.  S.  A.,  retired, 
who  in  the  words  of  his  commander  spoken  years  after  the 
battle,  "was  the  real  hero  of  Fort  Fisher,"  and  who  for 
fifty  years  has  passed  no  day  free  from  pain  on  account  of 
the  desperate  wounds  received  that  day  as  his  part  of  the 
price  that  was  paid  for  the  victory. 

Curtis  passed  away  some  two  years  ago,  and  Bell  fell 
and  died  in  the  assault  at  the  head  of  his  men.  The  fame  of 
both  is  secure,  for  no  account  of  the  battle  could  be  written 
without  most  prominent  mention  of  their  conspicuous  gal- 
lantry, and  no  survivor  of  the  desperate  fighting  at  the 
traverses,  could  ever  forget  the  leadership  of  Curtis. 

The  crisis  of  the  day  came,  when  the  small  first  brigade, 
having  lost  the  impetus  of  its  first  rush,  was  barely  keeping 
its  foothold  on  the  west  end  of  the  parapet,  while  the  enemy 
having  repulsed  the  men  of  the  navy  at  the  sea  angle,  were 
moving  a  heavy  column  to  drive  out  the  intrusive  infantry. 

Then  it  was  that  Pennypacker,  having  carried  the  pali- 
sades towards  the  river,  the  sally  port,  and  taken  four  hun- 
dred prisoners,  wheeled  the  head  of  his  large  brigade  to 
their  left  and  advanced  to  support  Curtis.  He  was  barely 
in  time;  for  Curtis'  exhausted  men  were  shaken  in  their 
morale,  and  the  sight  of  the  closely  approaching  enemy  who 
were  closing  up  to  attack,  caused  some  hesitation  among 
Pennypacker's  troops,  and  they  paused  in  their  advance. 

It  was  here  that  the  commander  of  the  second  brigade 
saved  the  day  and  became  the  hero  of  Fort  Fisher.  He  saw 
that  only  example  could  carry  the  men  forward,  and  with 
the  colors  of  the  97th  in  his  hand,  and  calling  on  his  men 
to  follow,  he  charged  up  the  fifth  traverse.  His  men 
swarmed  after  him,  and  though  the  leader  fell,  they  broke 

14 


up  the  enemy's  intended  attack,  turned  the  tide  of  battle  at 
the  traverses,  and  continued  to  gain  ground  there  until  the 
fort  was  won. 

Major  General  Pennypacker  served  during  the  entire 
Civil  War,  was  Major  of  his  regiment,  the  97th  Pennsyl- 
vania; at  nineteen,  its  Colonel  at  twenty,  and  Brigadier 
General  U.  S.  V.  at  twenty-two.  After  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War,  he  was  made  Colonel  of  the  16th  U.  S.  Infantry,  and 
remained  on  the  active  list  of  the  regular  army  until  retired 
on  account  of  wounds  about  1883  with  the  Brevet  of  Major 
General. 

General  Pennypacker  was  awarded  the  Congressional 
Medal  of  Honor  for  distinguished  bravery  in  this  battle. 
This  is  the  highest  distinction  that  can  be  conferred  upon  an 
American  soldier. 

None  but  a  soldier  who  served  under  him  and  followed 
wherever  he  led  can  appreciate  his  magnificent  soldiership, 
which  joined  to  his  kindness  to  his  inferiors,  and  to  his  spot- 
less integrity  made  him  indeed  the  officer  without  fear  and 
without  reproach. 

Our  prisoners  felt  the  sting  of  defeat,  but  they  were 
seasoned  veterans;  they  had  bravely  done  their  duty  and 
they  indulged  in  no  unavailing  regrets.  The  fortune  of  war 
had  decided  against  them  and  the  feeling  among  them 
seemed  to  be  one  of  relief  that  their  task  was  done.  In 
truth,  the  battle  was  fought  in  the  shadow  of  the  swiftly 
approaching  end;  both  sides  were  feeling  that  there  must 
soon  be  peace  on  all  the  continental  wrestling  floor,  though 
neither  could  know  how  soon  the  curtain  was  to  fall  at 
Appomattox. 

This  premonition  that  the  end  was  near  did  not  weaken 
the  Confederate  fighting  during  the  assault,  but  it  did  affect 
the  conduct  of  both  captors  and  captured,  for  that  night 
when  at  ten  o'clock,  the  surrender  was  announced,  the  fra- 
ternization of  Federal  and  Confederate  was  immediate  and 
complete.  This  was  so  in  a  marked  degree,  the  next  day 
while  the  prisoners,  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  guards  were 
waiting  on  the  beach  to  go  aboard  the  transports  that  were 
to  carry  them  North. 

Guards  seemed  unnecessary ;  there  then  took  place  that 
which  was  one  of  the  very  first  reunions  of  the  Blue  and 
the  Gray.    It  was  a  presage  of  that  greater  reunion  which 

15 


was  soon  to  take  place  at  Appomattox  and  an  evidence  that 
the  warring  sections  were  even  then  drawing  together. 

Several  of  the  captured  regiments  had  been  among  our 
antagonists  at  Fort  Wagner  in  1863,  and  an  exchange  of 
experiences  went  on  while  our  rations  were  being  shared 
with  the  prisoners;  they  appreciated  those  Union  rations, 
for  those  of  the  Confederacy  in  January  1865,  were  poor 
in  quality  and  meager  in  quantity.  Some  had  been  captured 
with  the  fort  and  they  were  seen  to  be  composed  mostly  of 
coarse  corn  meal,  with  some  hard  tack  of  poor  quality. 
They  had  but  little  meat  and  not  an  ounce  of  sugar  or  coffee. 
It  was  almost  pathetic  to  see  how  those  iron-sided  veterans 
took  to  the  Union  coffee.  As  they  drank  it,  they  were  heard 
to  say,  "This  is  the  first  we've  tasted  since  early  in  1862." 
Those  men  had  marched,  toiled  and  fought  during  the  last 
year  of  the  war  on  rations  which  might  have  caused  a 
mutiny  had  they  been  served  to  the  Union  Army. 

We  had  long  known  this  in  a  general  way,  but  here  was 
the  fact  before  our  eyes  and  there  was  not  a  man  among 
the  victors  who  did  not  thereby  get  an  access  of  admiration 
for  the  gallant  men  whom  the  fortune  of  war  had  made  our 
prisoners. 

As  to  which  side  was  right  and  which  was  wrong,  the 
question  was  not  discussed  after  the  battle  was  over.  It 
had  been  discussed  on  the  deadly  parapet  and  over  the 
bloody  traverses.  Our  brave  foemen  believed  they  were 
right ;  we  on  our  part  felt  sure  that  the  Union  ought  to  win, 
but  rough  veterans,  as  both  victors  and  vanquished  were, 
each  was  careful  of  the  others  personal  feelings.  The 
traditions  of  the  Southern  gentleman  even  there  cropped  out 
while  we,  on  our  part  out  of  pure  respect  and  kindly  feeling 
emulated  their  conduct.  But  all  were  real  soldiers  and 
always  the  .bravest  are  the  gentlest. 

As  I  recall  the  campaign  in  Virginia  in  1864,  though 
the  fighting  was  hard  and  bitter,  there  was  a  constant 
lessening  of  animosity  among  the  troops  on  both  sides.  And 
with  this  there  went  a  steadily  growing  respect  for  each 
other  as  soldiers.  This  was  realized  at  Fort  Fisher  as  never 
before;  there,  Federal  and  Confederate  mingled  as  brother 
Americans;  there  was  not  a  trace  of  bitterness.  We  did 
not  see  it  then,  but  the  new  Union,  cemented  by  the  toil  and 
blood  of  the  men  who  fought  the  war  was  already  in  the 
hearts  of  victors  and  vanquished  at  Fort  Fisher. 

16 


